Elekta installs equipment for radiation treatment of cancer with IMRT at the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden

Elekta installs equipment for radiation treatment of cancer with IMRT at the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden On Friday, February 1, 2002, a new linear accelerator from Elekta was inaugurated by the oncology clinic in the radiation treatment department at the University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden. The new unit, Elekta Precise, is the first at the hospital to offer intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), the latest technology for radiotherapy of cancer. The development of treatment methods for cancer is focusing on high-precision radiation treatment. IMRT enables the radiation dose to be adapted to the tumor's shape and specific radiation sensitivity with high precision. IMRT also reduces the risk of damage to healthy tissue. The patient's treatment result and quality of life is thereby enhanced. "We are particularly pleased to have the opportunity to supply the University Hospital with the latest technology in the radiation treatment of cancer," says Rolf Kjellström, head of Elekta's sales team in Scandinavia. "The University Hospital has a long tradition of developing new treatment methods, and Elekta's mission is to supply the healthcare sector with clinically effective and cost-efficient systems for, among other applications, radiotherapy of cancer", continues Rolf Kjellström. "The performance of the new equipment from Elekta is well suited to the research profile we have at the University Hospital," says Göran Rikner, Chief Physicist in the Department of Hospital Physics at the University Hospital. "Previously, we could only simulate certain treatments using advanced software. Now, later this spring, we can implement these therapies with the new installation," adds Göran Rikner. Radiotherapy is currently the most common and most cost-efficient method for treating cancer. Every second cancer patient today is receiving radiotherapy, at time combined with surgery or chemotherapy. The significance of this form of therapy will increase when the development of precision radiation technologies, such as IMRT, become more common. Elekta's Swedish market in the radiotherapy of cancer has grown during the past few years. Both the Mälaren Hospital in Eskilstuna, south of Stockholm, and the newly established radiation treatment department at the County Hospital in Sundsvall, central Sweden, recently installed Elekta Precise units. Elekta is the world's second-largest and Europe's largest supplier of advanced radiation treatment equipment for cancer. Elekta is a world-leading supplier of advanced and innovative radiation oncology and neurosurgery solutions and services for precise treatment of cancer and brain disorders. Elekta's solutions are clinically effective and cost efficient and gentle to the patient. For further information, please contact: Lars Jonsteg, VP Corporate Relations, Elekta AB (publ), tel. +46 8 587 254 82 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/02/06/20040525BIT20920/wkr0006.pdf